Los Angeles County police found the body of the main suspect in the shooting that left 10 dead in a Monterey Park, Calif. dance studio. The assailant, who attempted another attack at another venue minutes later but was disarmed by civilians, was cornered by police hours later in a van 30 miles from the scene.
The alleged shooter was a 72-year-old man of Asian descent. Following a report of a second attempted attack at a ballroom dancing venue in the town of Alhambra, about three miles from Monterey Park, deputies investigated the possible connection between the two events. The Sheriff's Office shared images of the alleged assailant, who was located and cornered in Torrance, also in Los Angeles County. The subject fled in a white van that matches the vehicle that some witnesses claimed to have seen him enter after the attacks.
On Saturday January 21, 2023 at 10:22 PM the suspect male/adult/Asian pictured above was involved in a shooting. Investigators have identified him as a Homicide suspect and he should be considered armed and dangerous.
Contact LASD Homicide with any information at 323-890-5000. pic.twitter.com/2gPUBBybvv— Robert Luna (@LACoSheriff) January 22, 2023
The motive of the shooting is still unknown
After the first attack, the suspect went to a nightclub in a nearby town and attempted another massacre. However, as reported by the police, the studio attendees were able to disarm him. The assailant managed to flee until police were able to track him down. When the assault teams charged the vehicle to subdue him, they found him dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Monterey Park Prosecutor John McKinney believes that, while the crime appeared to have targeted the Asian community, the motive of the massacre is personal in nature. Had it been a hate crime, "the perpetrator could have attacked at the [Chinese New Year] festival [happening nearby], and it would have had more impact," he said. In fact, just an hour before the first shooting, tens of thousands of people were celebrating the arrival of the new lunar year according to the Chinese calendar in the streets of Monterey Park.
🚨#BREAKING: Mass shooting with reports of multiple victims Dead
⁰📌#MontereyPark | #CACurrently multiple authorities are responding to a mass shooting in Monterey Park with reports of 16 people have been shot with unconfirmed reports 10 fatalities this is still developing pic.twitter.com/4XUwRwaibf
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) January 22, 2023
At least 11 dead
The death toll continues to rise. The police report indicates nine fatalities after the first attack. However, in the hours that followed, the death toll rose to 11 after some of the wounded died in the hospital (12 counting the presumed killer).
"When officers arrived on scene, they observed numerous individuals, patrons of the location pouring out of the location, screaming. Officers made entry to the location and located additional victims," reported Capt. Andrew Meyer.
